What caliber for Brood II cicadas?

:D
The map shows I should get some of those red-eyed buggers this spring, unlike the one a couple years ago that just missed my county. I figure my son and I can get in some quality air rifle practice in our back yard. Remember, shot placement is everything with cicadas - if you don't place your shot properly, you may end up hitting 4 instead of just one.

I used several different weapons against the Brood I that was here last year. Main choice was a Red Ryder but also used a 22 Benjamin and a 410 that my uncle loaded up with some corn cob tumbling media.

This reminds me of one of those B horror flicks, like the one with the giant mosquitoes (which is true to life in certain parts of Arkansas). In that case, I recommend one of those Antiaircraft Barrett 50s.

If they're anything like the mosquitoes here, you need armor piercing or HE. Regular FMJ just knocks them off course, which could take out innocent bystanders or small buses.

Noah

April 22, 2013, 11:56 PM

Cicadas? I'd use my airsoft electric rifle. The .25gram 6mm BBs @425 fps aren't much but should take down a cicada without trouble. It also fires over 12 per second pretty accurately on full auto. :evil:

BigBore44

April 23, 2013, 01:38 AM

Ok seriously,
There is an actual map that predicts the migration of cicadas? Can anyone say "pork spending"?!!!!

Btw, anyone got a link to this map? I would really like to see it.

InkEd

April 23, 2013, 02:25 AM

They can wreck havoc on a crop field.

rcmodel

April 23, 2013, 02:27 AM

What caliber for Brood II cicadas?I'm thinking trapping this year!

Just haven't figured out the plan yet.

rc

JFtheGR8

April 23, 2013, 10:16 AM

50 BMG, take the whole tree down then squash them underfoot.

I've never really thought about shooting at them. Can't you just spray them with soapy water and they'll suffocate?

Posted from Thehighroad.org App for Android

natman

April 23, 2013, 10:42 AM

Be sure to use enough gun. They really are armor plated.

You don't want to wound them, it just makes them angry.

jerkface11

April 23, 2013, 12:45 PM

Do they make good bait for any fish?

silicosys4

April 23, 2013, 12:56 PM

Do they make good bait for any fish?

no, there are supposedly so many of them they have a "predator satiation" mechanism....overwhelm all predators and the extras breed.
Any fish you throw them at will be gorged already

rodinal220

April 23, 2013, 01:10 PM

.25 is the trick. I would use my Beeman Kodiak in .25 with some Beeman Kodiak pellets(H&N Barracuda).

GrOuNd_ZeRo

April 23, 2013, 01:47 PM

If they come to Oklahoma I got a couple of scoped pellet guns with their names on it.
I am deadly accurate with both rifles and both shoot around 850-1000 FPS range.

r1derbike

April 23, 2013, 07:07 PM

.22 Benjamin Marauder Pistol (carbinized) with H&N pellets and BugBuster scope. Or any scope with down to 5 or 10 ft. of parallax focus, and low mag. adjustment. Mildot handy for close range apparent holdover.

silicosys4

April 23, 2013, 07:18 PM

anything with rat or snake shot. see how many you can take out with one shot, with each caliber

.22lr,
.357,
.44 mag,
all sound like perfect bug killers, lol

gspn

April 23, 2013, 07:18 PM

In a perfect world I'd go with one of those double barrel .22 LR/12 gauge combo's.

The 12 could handle all the general purpose and flying shots, and the .22 could reach way up high in the trees for the precision work.

Since it's not a perfect world and .22 LR is scarce then I might just use the 12 gauge with #9 shot and substitute a slug when I needed the reach.

Or you could fill your backyard with tarantula's and have them do the work for you...but then you'd have a heinous tarantula problem after the cicada's are gone so that might be a no-win scenario.

EddieG54

April 23, 2013, 07:25 PM

If they come by my part of the country we have a little critter called a fire ant that would love to meet them. Might not be enough left to shoot at.:)

Twmaster

April 23, 2013, 07:31 PM

That's right. Those ants are kinda small. A hungry Cicada might need to eat 5 or 6 of those ants! :D

r1derbike

April 23, 2013, 07:31 PM

In a perfect world I'd go with one of those double barrel .22 LR/12 gauge combo's.

The 12 could handle all the general purpose and flying shots, and the .22 could reach way up high in the trees for the precision work.

Since it's not a perfect world and .22 LR is scarce then I might just use the 12 gauge with #9 shot and substitute a slug when I needed the reach.

Or you could fill your backyard with tarantula's and have them do the work for you...but then you'd have a heinous tarantula problem after the cicada's are gone so that might be a no-win scenario.I haven't seen a tarantula in 50 years. I used to catch them when I was a kid and put them in jars! Never knew they ate cicadas. My wife and I called cicadas stupid when they'd repeatedly bang themselves into our iron lawn furniture in back, two years ago. Between them and the tree frogs, you couldn't go outside at night because of the deafening din.

I will be prepared, this time. Seasonals are good too.

I have a .22 Benjamin Marauder pellet rifle with a 6-24X 52mm scope and Chinese flashlight/spotlight hung underneath. Should get the ones at 50 yards or so. It has served me well with opossum, raccoon, and such at night.

Carl N. Brown

April 23, 2013, 07:54 PM

With proper eye protection, a wooden ruler 12" plus all those rubber bands you saved from the home delivery newspapers* can be quickly transformed into an improvised rubber band gun capable of striking cicadas at ranges of up to 8 feet, and just as quickly restored to the form of innocent office or school supplies supplies if the SPCC patrols roll through.

-----------------------
* Now you know what they were good for, and what you were saving them for, even if you had no idea at the time.

gspn

April 23, 2013, 08:19 PM

I haven't seen a tarantula in 50 years. I used to catch them when I was a kid and put them in jars! Never knew they ate cicadas.

I'm totally making up the part about them eating cicadas. They are so danged creepy and big that I assume they'll eat anything.

The last time I saw one was in Palo Duro Canyon in west Texas. I was driving up a hill and that spider was so big I could see UNDER him as I crested the hill.

That got me to wondering if there are primer-only shot shells in .22.... Are there any?

BigBore44

April 23, 2013, 10:06 PM

Yeah we have the eastern cicada killer wasps in oklahoma. I know that sounds strange because, well, oklahoma isn't exactly east. But we have tons of them. They aren't really harmless. They will sting you if provoked. And the damn things love to buzz us. They must think we are trees or something. And they have huge stingers. (1/4 inch) Have seen many sting and carry away cicadas. Pretty impressive actually.

CZguy

April 24, 2013, 12:11 AM

Or you could fill your backyard with tarantula's and have them do the work for you...but then you'd have a heinous tarantula problem after the cicada's are gone so that might be a no-win scenario.

Don't post that on the Internet.......before you know it that will be a new government program.

Scooter22

April 24, 2013, 12:19 AM

Get some of the Federal .22 crimped shot shells. They work better that the CCI plastic tips. Load up a pump .22 like a Rem 572 or old Sav 29b and shoot them when they are swarming around a tree. BANG!, BZZZzzzzzzz, squish.:D

Also, here we have an animal called a cicada killer. It's a wasp that's big enought to carry the cicada home for the young'ens. Gives you an idea of how BIG that wasp is.
I have witnessed those huge wasps clinging to cicadas underneath them, their stinger constantly hitting the mark, and was surprised the wasp was able to dig and drag it (still slung underneath the wasp) into a small crack between our sidewalk and dirt. It fascinated me so much, I got the wasp killer spray, waited until the wasp disappeared from sight, and squirted a good amount directly in the crack. Nothing came-out, so mission accomplished.

One note; the wasp looked absolutely livid with anger by its body movements and stinging action on its way to the crack. I was most impressed to stay out of the way.

shiftyer1

April 24, 2013, 02:56 AM

I ended up with around 2500 22lr snake shot, aside from killing copperheads I cant think of any other use for it than cicadas

Jim, West PA

April 24, 2013, 09:18 AM

That's one BIG wasp.:uhoh:
183204

Kind o' hope we see some o' them ( we wrongly call 'em locusts 'round here )
cicadas. I've been wantin to buy me a new air rifle as of late.

Oklacoyotekiller

April 24, 2013, 12:01 PM

How much the hides go for? They hard ta skin? :)

ball3006

April 24, 2013, 01:24 PM

One of those old smooth bore 22s and rat shot should be fun......chris3

ApacheCoTodd

April 24, 2013, 01:43 PM

How much the hides go for? They hard ta skin? :)
Skinning isn't an issue for the careful among us... it's the tanning that's a bear.

hemiram

April 26, 2013, 05:26 AM

My dog King who I lost in December, 10 days before he would have been 14 LOVED to snack on Cicadas! When they would emerge, he would be standing up on his back legs walking around under my trees, looking for a tasty snack. A couple of years ago they had a lot more of them than usual, and he gobbled up about two dozen of them in about 10 minutes. I was shocked that he kept them all down. My other dog, Molly, his littermate, was terrified of them. She killed all kinds of animals out there, and only was prevented from killing a big raccoon ( I had to be impressed, she had no problems with it at all) by a neighbor's kid breaking her concentration, but any big bug that could fly made her a quivering mess.

gpjoe

April 26, 2013, 07:23 AM

This:

http://bugasalt.com/

Well, might not pack enough punch or range, but still fun.

Dave P

April 26, 2013, 08:02 AM

How many cicada skins do I need for a pair of boots?

Twmaster

April 26, 2013, 06:34 PM

All of them!

230RN

April 26, 2013, 06:53 PM

Dang, this brought back pleasant memories of my brother and I shooting them with BB guns all day long. Lotsa practice, there.

Inside the house we were building, still drywalling it, he and I would shoot at the wasps sitting in the framing when Mom and Pop were gone.

Hit the big glass front picture window once. Pop was pissed when he found the hole. We denied everything and claimed some kids driving by had hit the window with a BB gun. But, as most of you will recall, when you hit glass with a BB, the little glass cone that pops out is on the other side of the glass, so naturally, it was obvious that the window was hit from the inside of the house.

So in a couple of days, I spotted him outside with one of our BB guns, shooting at a bottle and examining the glass cones that fell inside the bottle, and thinking about it....

I immediately took a looong bike ride.

My brother caught most of the hell, but I ain't sayin' in words who actually took the shot. Nope. But I "owed" him for years after that, and that was my actual punishment.

"Well, what about the time you shot the window and I took the heat?"

You know how that goes, if you have an older brother.

Terry, 230RN

buck1032

April 26, 2013, 09:11 PM

Google Carpenter Bee Loads. :) I have been loading for them and "hunting" them for a few years now. I havent shot a cicada but if the chance comes while I am stalking carpenter bees I just may have to take a shot. I just hope TN doesnt place a bag limit on either of them LOL

Twmaster

April 26, 2013, 09:58 PM

The only 'bag limit' is how big your bag is!

Drail

April 26, 2013, 10:25 PM

We had these some years ago. Be sure that after they're all dead to clean your gutters out. You would not believe the smell if they stay in there. It smells just like there is a dead body up on your roof. We had a puppy that also loved to gobble them down.

CZguy

April 27, 2013, 04:45 AM

How many cicada skins do I need for a pair of boots?

I have an app that figures that out, based on size and style.

Texan Scott

April 27, 2013, 04:58 AM

Doin it wrong. ... gotta collect the dry husks, grind em to powder, and boil it down to an enamel/ lacquer to brush onto a wooden surface in layers and polish to a chitinous sheen.

hang fire

April 27, 2013, 10:54 AM

:D
The map shows I should get some of those red-eyed buggers this spring, unlike the one a couple years ago that just missed my county. I figure my son and I can get in some quality air rifle practice in our back yard. Remember, shot placement is everything with cicadas - if you don't place your shot properly, you may end up hitting 4 instead of just one.